Man Killed By Corn in Barry County

Tragedy has struck at a farm in Barry County where a man became trapped in a corn silo and died.

According to FOX 17, a farming accident that happened Thursday morning when 72-year-old Robert Othmer was working in a corn silo and suddenly became trapped and under multiple feet of corn. The incident occurred at a farm on Coats Grove Road just east of M-66 in Castleton Township.

The man was wearing a safety harness while working in the silo. The harness and the rope tied to the safety device failed when Othmer stepped on a hollow spot in the corn. Immediately he became covered in corn which can be bone crushing due to the amount of weight.

Some time had passed before anyone knew what had happened but family members did try to save Othmer by cutting holes in the side of the corn silo to try and release the pressure but unfortunately they were not in time.

Because of all the pressure that comes with all the corn in a silo, its imperative to get a person out immediately and is difficult to impossible to get someone out that is submerged deep in corn.

The Nashville Fire Department are investigating the incident and looking into the safety harness and safety rope that failed.